Straight bar knitting machine



p 1943- T. c. BROMLEY arm. 2,329,822

STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 25

Sept. 3. T. c. BROMLEY ETAL- 2,329,822

STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inveniors I Thomas afiromlqya flrthar J/wl'tlaud,

Sept. 21, 1943. Q BRQMLEY ETAL 2,329,822

STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 25, 1942 3 Sheets- Sheet 3 F IIO In ventors Thomas Gflromlqy (1 1 B flrtlzur Jkortland,

Patented Sept. 21, 1943 UNITED STATES STRAIGHT BAR KNITTINGMACHINEThomas Charles Bromley and Arthur Shortland, Leicester, England,assignors to Mellor Bromley and Co. Limited, Leicester, EnglandApplication November 25, 1942, Serial No. 466,892 1 In Great BritainOctober 20, 1941 15 Claims. (01. 66110) This invention is concerned withCottons Patent and other straight bar knitting machines. In suchmachines, for the operation of loop transference and particularly forthe operation of fashioning, it is necessary to interrupt the draw forone course so that while the points take and transfer the loops thecarriers and slurcock remain stationary at one end of their traverse. Inmachines as hitherto constructed the draw cam is mounted on a shorthorizontal shaft which extends from front to rear of the machine and isdriven by bevel gearing from the main cam shaft which extends lengthwiseof the machine. For fashioning the main cam shaft is shogged endwise tomove the ordinary knitting cams out of operation and to bring intooperation the transfer cams mounted thereon; this shogging alsodisengages a dog clutch so that the drawcam is disconnected,Simultaneously a brake is applied to the draw-cam shaft so that thedrawcam is brought to a standstilland the movement of the draw-bar andthe oscillation of the drawlever which is connected thereto isinterrupted. This interruption in the rotary motion of the draw-cam hascertain disadvantages and an attempt .has been made to overcome them byso arranging matters that the draw-cam continues to rotate and thedraw-lever to oscillate, and by providing a coupling for mechanicallydisconmeeting the draw-lever from and re-connecting it to the parts ofthe draw mechanism which it serves to reciprocate. Considerabledifficulty has been experienced in so designing this coupling that itfunctions satisfactorily and an object of the present invention is toprovide a construction whereby the draw may be interrupted forfashio-ning, which is not subject to the disadvantages of knownconstructions. I I

To this end the present invention providesin a Cottons patent or otherstraight bar knitting machine Coulier ordraw mechanism of the typecomprising a rotatable draw-cam and a draw bar or lever (this memberlast mentioned will usually, in constructions according to thisinvention, be a lever and is therefore hereinafter referred to as such)carrying .a-truck or other cam follower normally engaging said cam,characterised by means for disengaging the cam and the truck whereby thecam continues to revolve but the draw-leverv remains stationary.Preferably the draw-cam is mounted on the main cam shaft to be shoggedtherewith and the disengagement and engagement of the cam and followeris effected by the shogging movement of said shaft. Therefore thepresent invention as viewed from another aspect provides a Gottonspatent or other straight bar knitting machine-, having the drawcammounted on vthe main; shaft cam to be shogged therewith and a draw-levercarrying a truck or other cam follower normally engaging thdraw-cam,.wherein the arrangement is such that when the cam .shaftisshogged for transferring or fashioning the draw-cam is disengaged fromthe truck. II p In some cases it may be found desirable to provide meansfor retaining the draw-lever in the position occupied by it at themoment of disengagement. For this purpose the cam shaft may be providedwith a plain cam .which,. when the draw cam is shogged out of engagementwith the cam follower. is itself shogged into engagement with saidfolloweror with another follower on the draw-lever. I I The foregoingand other features of thein vention are embodied in the'constructionswhich will nowbe described asexam'ples with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which I Figure 1 is a perspective View of oneCoulier or draw mechanism according to this invention; Figure 2 is asection therethrough, but also incorporating a plain cam for the purposehereinafter specified; f f

Figure 3 is a section through an alternative Coulier or draw mechanismaccording to this invention, while II I I Figures 4 and 5 arerespectively views of the faces of a draw cam and acontrolcamincorported therein; I

Figure 6 is'a view of a part of the face of a modified draw cam that maybe incorporated therein; I

Figure '7 ,isa perspective view showing the connection of two drawlevers according to this invention to certain draw mechanism. I

In all of these constructions only the Coulier or draw mechanism isillustrated, since the other parts of the Cottons or other straight barknitting machine are well known .andneed no description or illustrationherein'fand in all of these constructions the draw cam I0 is mounted onthe main cam shaft ll ofthe machine so as to be shogged therewith, Thisdraw-cam l0 operates a draw-lever l2 which in certainconstructionsaccording to this invention extends substantially horizontally fromfrontto rear of the machine across the cam face and has its free end [2'connected in anysuitable manner to the parts of the draw mechanism whichare to be reciprocated. Intermediate its pivot, I3 and its free end l2the said draw-lever. l2 carries a truck or camfollower M for engagingthe draw-cam. Preferably the draw-cam I is what is known as a box cam,that is to say a cam having a cam track I0 formed in one end facethereof into which cam track the cam follower I4 (preferably a truck ona horizontal spindle secured to the lever I2) projects so that thedraw-lever I2 is moved positively in each direction. It will beappreciated that when the cam shaft II is shogged in one direction (i.e. to bring the fashioning cams into operation) the draw-cam I0 iscarried with it so that the truck I4 disengages from the cam track Ill.This shogging movement is effected at one end of the draw, when thetruck is engaged with a concentric portion of the track III. Thearrangement may be such that, at this moment, the draw-lever I2 is atthe bottom of its downward swing so that there is no tendency thereafterfor the lever to move and it will be correctly positioned for thesubsequent re-engagement of the draw-cam with the truck. In many cases,however, it will be found desirable to provide means for positioning thedraw-lever I2, as for example in a construction wherein the drawleverextends above the top of the cam shaft.

To this end it is preferred to provide, on the cam shaft II and at theopposite side of the draw-lever I2 from the draw-cam III, a plain cam I5which when the draw-cam I0 is disengaged from its truck I4 issimultaneously moved into contact with another truck IS on the drawleverI2 so that during the ensuing revolution of the cam shaft II the plaincam I5, beingcoaxial with the shaft, maintains the draw-lever in thecorrect position. It is preferred that this plain cam shall also be abox cam having the radius of its track I5 the same as that of theconcentric portion of the track I0 in the drawcam III which is occupiedby the first mentioned cam follower I4 at the moment of shogging, thedraw-lever being provided with a truck (I4, I6) at each side.

The draw cam III may be driven through any suitable gearing. If it isdriven at the same speed as the cam shaft I I then a completeoscillation of the draw lever I 2 for each revolution of the cam shaftII results, and the mechanism is suitable for machines having twoknitting cycles for each revolution of the cam shaft. It has beenelected, however, to illustrate the gearing I! as half speed gearing 'sothat the draw cam I0 rotates at half the speed of the cam shaft II, and,when thus arranged the mechanism is suitable for knitting machineshaving one knitting cycle per revolution of the cam shaft. The plain camI5 is shown in Fig. 2 as being fixed to the cam shaft II to rotate andto shog there- 'with. The draw cam I0 together with one of the drivinggears is mounted to rotate on a boss I8 of one of the standards 33 ofthe machine, and it is shoggedby means of a collar I9 which is fixed tothe cam shaft II and is located between a face on the cam and a plate 20attached thereto. I

In the modification shown in Figs. 3 to 6 the draw cam III! has a trackIIfl' shaped as shown in Fig. 4 (and consisting of two intersectingloops) to give one draw motion for each revolution and to give acomplete oscillation of the draw lever I2 in two revolutions, the saiddraw cam being driven preferably at cam shaft speed through gearingindicated at IT and being shogged by a collar I9 secured to the camshaft II and located between a face on the draw cam and a plate 20vsecured thereto. It will be seen that the looped track 0' intersectsitself and it is therefore necessary to provide a switch or fillingpiece 2| so as to divert the truck I4 into the correct part of the trackat the crossing. This switch III has two arcuate surfaces 2Ia, 2Ib andis movable between positions in which the surface 2Ia bridges a part ofthe track and is continuous with the surfaces'a thereof as shown in Fig.4, and a position in which the surface 2 lb bridges another part of thetrack and is continuous with the surfaces b thereof as indicated by thechain dotted line in Fig. 4. This movement of the switch or fillingpiece 2| is effected by means of a control cam 22 (Figs. 3 and 5). Thiscontrol cam is driven at half the speed of the draw cam III) and isprovided with an eccentric track 22 (Fig. 5) in which a truck 23 on theswitch 2| runs, the said switch being suitably guided in the draw camIII] to move radially on the face thereof. Therefore this control cam22, rotating at half the speeds of the draw cam H0, moves the switch 2|between its two extreme positions at the appropriate times. It will beappreciated, however, that the switch 2| must dwell in each of itsextreme positions while the cam follower I4 is passing along its face2Ia or 2Ib as the case may be, and therefore the track 22' in thecontrol cam 22 must have a dwell or concentric portion at its maximumand minimum throw. This period of dwell must be more than half theangular movement of the draw cam III] that is required for the truck I4to move over the switch 2|. Therefore, while in Fig. 4 the said draw cammovement is indicated by :0", in' Fig. 5 each period of dwell isindicated by :1:/2+. Conveniently the control cam 22 is driven by meansof an internal gear 24 attached to it, a station- 'ary sun gear 25secured to the boss I8 of the standard 33, and a planet pinion 26meshing with the two said gears and carried by a stud 2'! projectingfrom the draw cam III].

In the modified construction of draw cam H0 shown in Fig. 6 the controlcam 2'2 is dispensed with and the switch 2| is movedbetween its twoextreme positions by a feeler 28 which is adapted to be interposedalternatively into two portions of the cam track. I III. In Fig. 6 thetruck I4 is shown as moving in the direction of the arrow along thatportion of the cam track III] which is of decreasing radius. In so doingit has raised the feeler 28 about itspivot 29 and has lowered the switch2i to its appropriate position through the medium of lever 30. It willnow be seen that a portion of the feeler 28 blocks that part of the camtrack III! which is of progressive increasing radius so that when oncontinued rotation of the cam III] the truck I4, moves along saidportion it will make contact withthe feeler 28 and will depress it aboutits pivot 29 until the upper flank of the feeler is flush with thesurface 0 of the track, which movement of the feeler will elevate theswitch 2| until the surface .ZIb thereof is continuous with the tracksurface I).

The free end of the draw lever I2 may be connected by any suitablemechanism to those parts which it has to reciprocate. It will beappreciated, however, that the movement of said free end is in adirection at substantially right angles to this reciprocation and theconnected mechanism must be such as to efiect conversion of motion alongone path into motion along a. path at right angles thereto. For examplethe drawlevcr may be connected to a vertical reciprocate.-

ble rack meshing with a pinion driving a rack which reciprocateslengthwise of the machine. Alternatively such pinion may drive a helix'or screw thread by means of which the necessary reciprocation lengthwiseof the machine is effected. 7 In one arrangement within the scope ofthis invention, illustrated in Fig. '7, there are two spaced draw-cams land a draw-lever 12 for each, the cams It being so arranged that whenone draw-lever !2 is at the top of its swing the other is at the bottom.The free ends l2 of these draw-levers l2 are connected by suitableflexible connecting means which extend upwards from each free end, overa guide, and then horizontally lengthwise of the machine between the twoguides. Advantageously said connecting means comprises a chain 3! andeach guide consists of a sprocket 32. In such construction plain camsmay be unnecessary. The levers may be located at each end of themachine, or one at each end of the centre section, or both.

In another construction (not shown) according to this invention thedraw-lever extends substantially vertically upwards from a pivot belowthe level of the cam shaft and at its upper end is provided with aquadrant of gear teeth which mesh with a pinion rotatable about ahorizontal axis extending lengthwise of the machine. This pinion drivesa screw thread or helix by which the reciprocating parts of thedraw-mechanism are reciprocated.

i We claim:

1. In a Cottons Patent or other straight bar knitting machine,Coulier-or draw mechanism comprising a continuously rotatable draw cam,a draw member displaceable thereby, a cam follower connected to saiddraw member for causing the cam to move said draw member, and means fordisengaging the rotating draw cam and the follower whereby the drawmember remains stationary while the cam continues to rotate.

2. In a straight bar knitting machine, Coulier or draw mechanismcomprising a rotatable draw cam and a follower therefor which cam andfollower are separable by relative shogging during rotation of the camto interrupt the draw, and a draw member displaceable by the cam throughthe medium of the follower.

3. Coulier or draw mechanism for a straight bar knitting machine of thekind having a shogging cam shaft, comprising a rotatable draw cam onsaid cam shaft and shogging therewith, a draw member displaceable by thedraw cam, and a cam follower on the draw member for engaging the cam inone shogged position of the latter but disengaged from the cam inanother shogged position thereof.

4. In a Cottons patent or other straight bar knitting machine, Coulieror draw mechanism of the type comprising a rotatable draw cam, a drawmember movable thereby, and a cam follower connected to the draw memberand engaging the cam: having in combination means for disengaging thecam and follower, and means for retaining the draw member in theposition occupied by it at the moment of disengagement of the cam andfollower.

5. In the Coulier or draw mechanism of a straight bar knitting machine,the combination of a draw member movable to and fro, and two rotatablecams displaceable selectively during rotation into association with it-adraw cam for moving said member and a plain cam for holding said memberstationary while the draw cam is not associated with it.

6. In the Coulier or draw mechanism of a straight bar knitting machinehaving a shogging cam shaft, the combination of a draw memberdisplaceable to and fro in the draw, a cam follower' carried thereby, adraw cam' rotatable about thecam shaft and shogging therewith into andout of engagement with the follower, means for driving the draw 'fcam'ata predetermined speed-in relation to that of the cam shaft, and a plaincam shogging with the cam shaft and draw cam for positioning the "drawmember when the draw cam is shogged out of engagement with the follower.Ii

In- 'the' Coulier or draw mechanism of a straight bar knitting machineof the kind having a rotatable, shogging, cam shaft, the combination ofa draw cam continuously rotatable while the cam shaft rotates, acamfollower for engaging said cam, a draw membencarrying the follower anddisplaceable by the cam, through the medium of the follower, to make thedraw, and means for shifting the cam and follower into and out ofengagement as the cam-shaft shogs in one direction or the other so thatwhen they are disengaged the draw member remains stationary although thecam continues to rotate.

8. In the Coulier or draw mechanism of a straight bar knitting machineof the kind having a rotatable main cam-shaft, the combination of arotatable draw cam having a cam track for producing two draws for eachrevolution of the cam, means for driving said cam continuously, whilethe camshaft rotates, at half the speed of said shaft, a cam followerfor engaging said track, a draw member carrying the follower and movableto and fro by the cam, and means for effecting relative movement betweencam and follower to bring them out of operative relationship and tocause the draw member to remain stationary while the cam continues torotate.

9. In the combination'claimed in claim 8, a rotatable plain cam, afollower on the draw member for engaging the plain cam, and means forbringing the second follower and the plain cam into contact, to positionthe draw member, when contact between the first follower and therotating draw cam is interrupted.

10. In the Coulier or draw mechanism of a straight bar knitting machine,the combination of a continuously-rotatable draw cam, a cam trackthereon for producing one draw motion for each revolution of the cam, acam follower for engaging said track, a draw member carrying saidfollower and movable to and fro by the cam through the medium of thefollower, and means for disengaging the cam and follower while the camrotates so that the draw member remains stationary.

11. A combination according to claim 10, wherein the cam trackintersects itself, and having a movable filler for passing the followeracross the intersection.

12. In the combination claimed in claim 10, and end face on the cam atwhich face the track is formed, which track consists of two intersectingloops, and means for passing the follower across the intersection.

13. In the Coulier or draw mechanism of a straight bar knitting machine,the combination of a continuously' rotatable draw cam having an )endface, a cam track at said end face for proand fro by the cam, means fordisengaging the follower and track, a filler movable on the cam to guidethe follower across the track intersecq tion, a rotatable control camhaving an eccentric track for moving said filler, and means for drivingthecontrol cam at half the speed of the draw cam.

14. In the Coulier or draw mechanism of a straight bar knitting machinehaving a rotating cam shaft, the combination of two draw members movableto and fro transversely of the axis of said shaft, a flexible connectionconnecting said members and reciprocatable thereby, guide means forguiding said connection in a path parallel to said axis, two rotatabledraw cams on said shaft,

one for each said member, having cam tracks for moving said memberssimultaneously in opposite directions, a cam follower on each member forengaging the track of the associated cam, and shogging means forsimultaneously disengaging both followers from their tracks.

15. In the Coulier or draw mechanism of a straight bar knitting machinehaving a shogging camshaft, the combination of a rotatable draw cam, adraw lever movable to and fro thereby, a follower associated with thedraw lever, for engaging the cam, and means for disengaging the cam andfollower as the cam shaft shogs.

THOMAS CHARLES BROMLEY. ARTHUR SHOR'I'LAND.

